A major Tory donor whose husband is a former Putin ally has been given a prestigious honour by the Republic of San Marino.
Lubov Chernukhin, whose husband Vladimir served as deputy finance minister to President Putin before coming to the UK, has handed almost £2 million to the Conservative Party since 2012.
Last night she attended a ceremony San Marino’s consulate in London, where she was given the Award of St Agatha, one of the Republic’s highest honours.
The event was attended by a high-level government delegation from the micro-country, including Captains Regent Francesco Mussoni and Giacomo Simoncini, the dual heads of state.
Tory MP Andrew Rossindell, who chairs the All-Party Parliamentary Group on San Marino, attended the event and gave a speech.
This morning, the delegation met with Boris Johnson, which they described as “friendly”.
In a tweet, the Consulate said: “A friendly meeting with the UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
“The San Marino delegation appreciated the support of a great and traditional ally, such as the #UK, in a post Brexit era and especially now during the turbulent times the world is passing by.”
In a further tweet, they said the honours had been given out “for their distinctive merits to support San Marino during the Covid-19 pandemic.”
Previous recipients of the Award of St Agatha have included Theresa May, Jeremy Hunt, Ban Ki-Moon, several Popes, King Edward VII and King Edward VIII.
The Mirror revealed last week that the Tories had pocketed £80,000 from Ms Chernukhin in the weeks leading up to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
made two donations of £13,750 in October and £66,500 in December last year.
The Mirror understands the first payment was for a table at the party’s notorious Black and White Ball fundraiser, where wealthy benefactors can rub shoulders with senior ministers and MPs while Boris Johnson rattles his donation tin to bolster party coffers.
The second donation is understood to be a successful bid in the event’s auction, where the party sells access to cabinet ministers to the highest bidder.
Ms Chernukhin has repeatedly paid for access to successive Prime Ministers ministers in the auction, including a cosy night out with Theresa May and a tennis match with Boris Johnson.
Last year's event saw an hour playing cricket with Rishi Sunak sold for £35,000 - while a karaoke session with Foreign Secretary Liz Truss raised £22,000, though it’s not currently known what Ms Chernukhin’s cash bought her.
In total Ms Chernukhin has given almost £2 million to the party - and is the biggest female political donor in British history.
The £80,000 brings her total donations to the central party and individual Tory MPs for 2021 to £155,225.
There is no suggestion of any wrongdoing by Ms Chernukhin, who is a British citizen and has been legally entitled to make political donations since 2012.
